What is the cleanest lake near Ward Lake?

Pike Lake in Cook County holds a Grade A water quality score and is 3.9 miles from Ward Lake.

Why is Ward Lake not Grade A?

Ward Lake holds Grade B, with about 5.6 ft of water clarity and 16.5 µg/L of phosphorus. The grade reflects measured water quality against Metropolitan Council thresholds. Cleaner alternatives nearby score higher on clarity, phosphorus, or chlorophyll-a.

Are these recommendations based on real data?

Yes. Every grade is calculated from EPA Water Quality Portal samples for the lake. Recommendations are limited to lakes within 30 miles of Ward Lake in Minnesota, with strictly higher numeric grade scores and sufficient monitoring data.

Cleaner Lakes Than Ward Lake, Top 5 Within 30 Miles, LakeQuality

Cleaner Lakes Than Ward Lake

5 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.

Ward Lake carries a Grade B (Good) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Pike Lake (Cook County, Grade A, 3.9 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.

Pike Lake

Cook County, Minnesota · 3.9 mi from Ward Lake

+Higher grade (B → A)
++12.2 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (6 vs 16.5 µg/L)

Caribou Lake

Cook County, Minnesota · 1.3 mi from Ward Lake

+Higher overall water quality score
++1.4 ft water clarity

Deer Yard Lake

Cook County, Minnesota · 1.8 mi from Ward Lake

+Higher overall water quality score
++1.9 ft water clarity

Clara Lake

Cook County, Minnesota · 6.8 mi from Ward Lake

+Higher overall water quality score
++2 ft water clarity

Tait Lake

Cook County, Minnesota · 7.5 mi from Ward Lake

+Higher overall water quality score
++1.5 ft water clarity

How this list is built

Every lake on LakeQuality has a calculated grade from EPA Water Quality Portal samples — secchi depth, total phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a measured against Metropolitan Council thresholds. To suggest cleaner alternatives, we filter lakes within 30 miles to those with a strictly higher numeric score, then rank by grade improvement with a small proximity tiebreak. Cross-state and limited-data lakes are excluded so the list stays locally relevant.